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With four months left until high school graduation season, organizers of the Neighborhood Sarah Sparlark Scholarship are working to grow the fund to offset the rising cost of higher education.
Deborah Willis Fillinger, a local physician and organizer of the award, said the fund aims to continue the legacy of the beloved educator it is named after.
“Many of us hope to emulate Sarah’s influence, to be a bridge where we can, to support students in any way we can, and to give them vision and hope for the future. .”
Established in 1990, this scholarship was created to honor longtime local teachers and school administrators.
“Sparlark mentored everyone. She was a mentor and an encourager for all of us students when it came to college and options,” said Willis Fillinger, a former student of Sparlark. “There was her true humility, her genuine concern for people, and her kindness for which many generations will remember her.”
The scholarship is awarded to high school seniors who have demonstrated “outstanding achievement in teaching, service, and leadership,” and typically awards $5,000 to one to seven Kenwood Academy students. This funding is typically used for travel, books, and other first-year expenses.
Last year, for the first time in its 33-year history, organizers extended scholarships to Hyde Park Academy students.
“Kenwood High School is very good at developing students into strong candidates for scholarships and has done a very good job in developing opportunities for the kids there,” Willis said. Fillinger said. “We recognize that Hyde Park High School does not have that level of focus and the infrastructure does not exist within the school to support such activities.”
“So we’re going to work with the counselors there to identify students and bring them into our outreach on a regular basis,” she said.
Over the years, the scholarship has awarded 90 students up to $5,000 in funding to cover travel, books and other expenses. A select number of students are invited to apply each year, Willis Fillinger said. Recipients are then selected by a committee.
Sparlark (née Liston) was born in 1923 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and is the granddaughter of former slaves on both her paternal and maternal sides, according to her biography posted on the scholarship website. Her paternal grandfather, Huey Lord Byron Liston, was unable to attend school beyond her third grade. Nevertheless, by studying USDA brochures, he was able to cultivate land in South Carolina. The farm provided income for Ms. Spurlark’s father, Hardy Liston Sr., to attend the University of Chicago and earn her bachelor’s and master’s degrees. He is pursuing his Ph.D. It finally ended with the Great Depression.
As a child, education was always the focus in Sparlag’s home. Both of her parents were professors at historically black universities and often had her students stay in their home.
Sparlark moved to Hyde Park in 1947 to pursue a Ph.D. He received his PhD in biochemistry from the University of Chicago. She eventually left the eight-year program to focus on her family and health and took a job as a high school chemistry teacher in Chicago Public Schools (CPS).
In 1955, during the Great Migration and CPS’s school system integration program, Sparlark was assigned to Kelly High School in Brighton Park.
Throughout the early 1960s, Sparlark was involved in planning Kenwood High School (now Kenwood Academy). He opened Kenwood School in 1966, which was established to accommodate the growing enrollment of Hyde Park High School.
Sparlark joined the Kenwood faculty that year, teaching biology and chemistry.
Willis Fillinger, one of the first students to graduate from Kenwood, had Sparlag as his science teacher. She recalled how Sparlark served as a “bridge” between longtime residents and families from the South resettling in the neighborhood.
“She has been very strategic about stabilizing the public education system and making sure that the faculty and families of the University of Chicago Circle provide opportunities for families (coming north) and for those of us who already attend the University of Chicago. ,” Willis said. Filler said. “Basically, she shifted her conversation to the future and possibilities, and the results were incredible.”
Willis Fillinger was part of a group of Kenwood students who help UC students complete their teaching degrees, a partnership initiated by Sparlark.
“(Sparlark) was actually making sure that in some ways he understood the culture of the community, the culture of the students, our concerns and priorities,” Willis Fillinger said.
“At the same time, (Sparlark) has injected additional academics into the public school system, giving University of Chicago families and those of us already attending the university even more confidence to remain in our schools and communities.” You stay there to participate and grow,” she added.
Sparlag became head of the science department and later served as one of the school’s assistant principals responsible for curriculum development and programming.
In 1979, she accepted a position as principal at Ray Elementary School, 5631 S. Kimbark Ave., where she remained until her retirement in 1990. She also worked as a lecturer at U of C for several years. as the founder and co-director of the Urban School Improvement Center (now the Urban Education Research Institute); She officially retired in 2005 at the age of 81.
She passed away on February 12, 2012 at the age of 88.
The eponymous award was established by parents Ray and Kenwood upon the retirement of Spalark. More than a decade after Sparlark’s death, organizers continue to carry on her legacy, although their methods have evolved.
Scholarship organizers are currently trying to raise $20,000 by the end of April through an online crowdfunding campaign, Willis Fillinger said.
“Kenwood High School and Hyde Park High School students have very different family situations,” she said. “The need for education continues to be an important stabilizer for families.”
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